Apple iPhone finally gets multi-tasking with new operating system (but only if you have the 3GS model)

iPhone users will finally be able to run more than one programme at a time on their mobiles, thanks to a new operating system due to be launched this summer.

Currently, you must return to Apple's home screen every time you want to start a new task, which effectively quits any open applications.

But the iPhone 4.0 OS will allow multi-tasking. This means you could continue a Skype conversation while looking up directions or receive an internet call while reading the news.

Apple's Steve Jobs explains some of the main features of the new iPhone OS 4

It will literally be music to the ears of customers who have long
complained they cannot listen to their favourite tunes through an app
like Pandora, while performing tasks such as checking their bank
accounts online.

Multi-tasking with third party apps is already offered on phones by rivals Palm and Google.

'We weren't the first to this party, but we're going to be the best,'
Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, as he unveiled the new OS yesterday.

'It really changes the way you use the iPhone. You're bouncing around the apps with tremendous fluidity.'

Apple Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the new OS 4.0 for iPhones and iPads in California yesterday

Mr Jobs said it had waited so long because it wanted to offer multitasking in a way that didn't
drain the iPhone's battery or reduce the phone's performance.

In demonstrating the feature, he double-tapped on the iPhone's main
button while playing a game to reveal a row of icons for other programs
that were quietly running in the background and accessible with a
finger tap.

However,
multi-tasking will only be available as a software update to those with
an iPhone 3GS, third generation iPod touch or an iPad.

According to Steve Jobs, the company has sold 450,000 tablet computers in the U.S since the iPad launch last Saturday.

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The iPhone 4.0 OS also includes other updates such
as allowing messages from multiple e-mail accounts to land in a single
inbox and a way to connect an iPhone with a regular keyboard using
Bluetooth wireless technology.

New folders will allow users
to better organise their apps. A new folder can be automatically
created when dragging one app icon onto another.

The folder is automatically given a name based on the App Store category such as 'Games', 'Travel' or 'Social Networking.'

But Apple still won't support Flash technology, even though many
websites require it for displaying video. Flash was alongside
multitasking at the top of many wish lists.

There
is no sign of an FM radio or a built-in photo editor and you still
cannot sync or back up information over Wi-Fi instead of plugging in a
USB cable.

Steve Jobs revealed that Apple has sold 450,000 iPads in the U.S since Saturday

Steve Jobs also announced an advertising platform called iAd in which Apple will sell and host ads to run on apps made by outside developers.

The Apple supremo said users shouldn't find the ads annoying because they had made it easier for people to navigate back to what they were doing before clicking on an ad.

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Apple iPhone 4.0 OS offers multi-tasking... but only if you have the latest model